Alternate Happening
by DemonCry
Summary: How would it be different if Gareki washed ashore somewhere else? What if he was feed the drug on the ship and he had an interesting reaction to it? No romance. Brotherly love only.
1. Chapter 1 Found

Alternate Happenings

Disclaimer: **I DO NOT OWN!**** If I did do you really think I'd settle for fan fiction?**

Chapter 1: Found

_Location: Beach side of Rainbow Forest Time: Dawn_

Karoku was in a contemplative mood. The Niji he adopted was a human boy now. The process had saved Nai's life but he had never raised a child before. What was he supposed to do with a four year old? What if he made a mistake? What if they were attacked? What if "oof!" Karoku pried his face from the sand and glanced at what had tripped him. It was a boy of no more than eight years old.

He rushed over and paced his fingers on the boys' neck. He sighed in relief. There was a pulse though faint. Karoku sat back on his heels and took a look at the boy. He noticed a jagged purple scar on the boys left shoulder. It kind of looked like iris petal. "Vargus taint. Forced by the look of it." Karoku mused. "You're lucky you have not mutated, though you did not come away unscathed. Well anyway I need to get you dried and feed." He told the unconscious boy. The seventeen year old picked up the boy and noticed how light he was." Definitely feeding you." He muttered as he made his way back to the cave house he shared with Nai.

_Location: Karoku and Nais' Place Time: Next Day Noon._

"Karoku nii is he going to wake up today?" A little white haired boy asked his caretaker. Karoku smiled as he looked up from the pot of soup he was stirring. "He might. He has been restless since this morning." Nai bounced on his heels. "Are you going to name him like you named me?" The teen laughed. "He probably already has a name."

"Hey he's waking up!" Nai shouted running over to the bed nearly tackling the now conscious boy. "Easy Nai he is still injured." Karoku addressed the boy. "How are you feeling? Do you remember what happened?"

The boy answered in a monotone. I am fine. The ship was destroyed." He turned his head to the window. "All right the quiet type I see. Well soup is done so we will have lunch together. After that we will talk more about what happened and why you are infected by Vargus taint."

The boys head shot in his direction. "How" He demanded. Karoku tapped the boys' left shoulder. "I recognized the color of that scar. Mind telling me how it happened." The boy remained silent. "All right how about your name." The boy simply stared at him. "Fine if you won't tell me your name I'll have to give you one. How about Naruto. No, no that is a ramen topping. That does not suit you at all. What about Ichigo? No not that one either. Hum. I know" Karoku snapped his fingers. "You will be Gareki. Has a nice ring to it don't you think? Well time for lunch." He said ignoring Gareki's glare as he passed out the filled bowls.

Gareki hesitated then his stomach growled and he decided that the others would not drug themselves. So he started to eat for the first time in two weeks unaware that the two before him would become his most precious people.

_Location: Shipwreck site. Time: Same morning Gareki was found_

"Poor children. Sold into slavery by their, own parents. Experiments done to them without their knowing." A man with a top hat mused. In his hand was a ledge with information on the children and what effects the drugs were having on them. One in particular stood out. A young boy no more than eight with black hair and grey green eyes. He read the entry out loud.

_Third day aboard ship. _

_"Subject 173 has shown no change. Though the other subjects refuse him food he still drinks the water. As the others start showing signs of insanity Subject 173 remains unaffected. Is it because of his previous encounter with the Vargus or something else? Regardless we will be increasing the dosage daily until we reach port. When we reach port we will start with injection on the survivors. I wonder how long that waif will last. He is very promising." _

End Entry

After reading the entry the man scoffed in disgust. "What monsters to do such things to children." The man shook his head.

"Captain Hirato. Sir all but one body was confirmed dead." A researcher reported.

"Did one of them escape?" Hirato asked.

"Unknown Sir. Subject 173 is not among the wreckage." Hirato nodded dismissing the man. "173 did you survive or are you at the bottom of the sea? Though I have a feeling we will meet someday." He closed the ledger and returned to his ship.


	2. Chapter 2 Mini tale

_Anything to do with explosives, hacking, or anything connected to Gareki genius is completely made up._

Chapter 2: Filler chapter.

_Location: Karokus' cave Time: Two years later Mini tale one_

Two years have passes and things could not get any better. The sun was shining, the animals were playing and' BOOOM' and Gareki was making explosives again. A muffles cough and a mutter of too much magnesium were heard through the smoke cloud. Yep, just an ordinary day in the life of the Rainbow Forest residence.

_A few hours later_

"All right so I'm raising a pyromaniac and techno-genius all in one." Karoku sighed as he watched Gareki hack his thirteen level encrypted computer in under a minute. "How are you doing that?" Gareki just glanced at him and shrugged. "I read about it in one of the books from the abandoned plane." He said still absorbed in his hacking. Karoku froze. "What abandoned plane?" Gareki answered without looking up. "The one on the shore where you found me. Don't know what happened to it though. The tail was torn to shreds."

"What else did you get from the plane?" Asked a freaked out Karoku. "I harvested its electronics, there were a few more tech books, oh and there was a dead Vargus being eaten by a walking shark*." The boy said with complete nonchalance. Karoku just about had a heart attack. "A Vargus and a walking shark. I can't leave you alone for a minute can I?" " If that freaks you out you should here what happened to Nai-baka." Gareki muttered not meaning for Karoku to hear. He found himself being forcefully turned around and shaken by the shoulder. "What happened to Nai that is stranger than what happened to you?!" The eldest nearly screamed.

"Well" Gareki began. "He got himself carried off by a by a swarm of honey bees. I only found him after he was covered in honey." Karoku stared. "Honey bees?Where is he now?" "He should be in the bath right now but, knowing him he probably got carted off by ants." The preteen quipped. Before Gareki knew it Karoku was outside running around shouting for Nai. The boy just shook his head and went back to his hacking. Nai would show up eventually. He always does.

_On the other side of the hot springs where the ant hills are._

Nai was laying on his back nearly covered head to toe in ants giggling as they tickled him with their little legs while they ate that honey still covering the boy. He was found the next morning by a hysteric Karoku and indifferent Gareki.

_End of first mini tale. _

* * *

Thank you minitsundere for reviewing you where the first.


	3. Chapter 3: Kaze

Chapter three: Kaze

_Is it just me or does Gareki look like a fox when he smirks?_

_Nai is nine and Gareki is thirteen that would make Karoku twenty two in my story._

Karoku watched the boy pace from one side of the cave to the other. He could understand the others unease; he had just finished telling both of them about Kafka. They had needed to know, well, Gareki needed to know but Nai could hear them anyway so moot point.

Karoku sighed." Calm down Gareki, they haven't found us." "Yet" the boy added darkly. "How long do you think it will take them to discover this place? I remember there was a dead Vargus by a wreaked plane three years ago on the beach. Not to mention what happened last year." Though that did unearth a few things about himself. "They've obviously been looking for you. What would happen if they found out about Nai? What would they do to him? To you?" Gareki looked at him and Nai with hard grey green eyes. Eyes far too old to belong to a child so young. _'You don't care what they will do to you do you? You're just worried about us. How selfless of you?'_ Karoku thought sadly. The boy had been through a lot even before the ship took him. It was a miracle he turned out the way he did.

"We need information on them and a way to track their movements." Gareki said mostly to himself. A gleam appeared in his eyes. Karoku eyed him suspiciously. "I know that look. What are you planning on doing? You can't do anything from here."

"No, not from here I can't. I need to go to the city. That is the first place to start looking."

Nai started at that. "You're leaving. You can't leave. I don't want our family to break." He half yelled, tears already in his eyes.

Gareki's eyes softened. Nai was irritatingly naïve most of the time but, he truly did care. "I'll keep in contact as much as I can. Also if I don't find anything in half a year I'll come back. Deal?" Nai nodded "Deal."

He turned to Karoku. "What do you think?" Karoku sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day. "I think you're too young to be doing this alone, but I also know how stubborn you can get. When you get to the mainland find some way to contact us. I don't care if it a message in a bottle. Just get one to us." He demanded.

"Alright, I'll leave in the morning. For now Nai, do you want to help me pack?"

"Yes!" He shouted eagerly already running to the back of the cave where they all slept.

_Next morning _

"Did you pack everything you'll need? Your explosives, your custom gun, (Still don't know how you got that.)(And you never will.) ,you tools, clean underwear?" Karoku listed acting like the mother hen he was. Gareki just sighed and placed his belonging in the boat." I have everything now stop asking me every five minutes." He grumbled.

"I just want to make sure. Besides what's the hurry. We still have to wait for Nai before you take off." Karoku said. He looked toward the woods. "Speaking of which, here he comes."

Nai was running toward them, a small box in his hands. When he reached them he handed it to Gareki. "I found them on the beach last week. I thought you might like them." Nai said happily as Gareki pulled out a pair of blue lensed goggles.

Gareki smirked. "Thanks Nai. These will be perfect when I have to blow something up."

Karoku face palms and mutters. "When, he says." He shook his head. He should have more faith; even at thirteen Gareki was an ace marksman and explosives expert. Hell he was a tech genius all round. He knew not to go overboard unless necessary. _'I hope it's never necessary._'

"Well, I better get going or I won't make till nightfall." Gareki said ruffling Nai's hair and giving Karoku a half hug. These two were the only ones he would show open affection too. He climbed into the boat and took off into the rising sun. He shook his head at that cliché thought and carried on his way with a last wave to his family Their shouts of 'come back soon' and 'Don't blow up the city' at his back.

* * *

Gareki made it to Karasune just as the sun set below the waves. He dragged the vessel to shore so the waves would not take it. When he was finished with that he decided to find a place to camp. Before he could even take a step a vile chill drew down his spine. Gareki stood stock still carefully scanning the surrounding area. There was only one thing that could cause that particular feeling. A Vargus was near.

He pinpointed the monster due north of him. It was close. Just behind the crop of trees in front of him. Gareki was heading the other way when he heard a scream, bloodcurdling and desperate. He was already at the edge of the woods before his brain caught up. He pulled out his gun that he always keeps strapped to his side. He slowed down to take in the situation and he knew it was already too late. The town was being massacred. There were bodies lying everywhere. Some it was hard to tell were once people.

As Gareki crept to the center of town he found the beasts that had rote the destruction. There were three in all, large hulking things splattered in blood, laughing over the corpse of a little girl no more than five years old. It made his blood boil. Then he saw the body move and realized the child was still alive. Gareki didn't hesitate. He shot all three of them with the specialized bullets. Unlike regular bullets that would barely faze the Vargus, these ones were mixed with his blood, which for some reason burned the monsters like acid. "Slime, you missed one." He shot them in the head when the turned towards him and let the bullets do their work as he ran up to the suffering child, though one of them got a lucky shot on his arm on his way past. The girl did not even scream as he checked her wounds already knowing it was too late. The girl smiled at him and thrust something into his arms. "Take care of Kaze for me." She whispered before her eyes dulled and her heart stopped. Gareki gently closed her vacant eyes then looked at what she had given him.

To his surprise it was a bird, a crow, with a blue ribbon around its neck and a punctured wing. Even more surprising was that it was still alive and strangely enough lapping at his cut. "Hey cut that out. It could hurt you!" Gareki admonished. The bird ignored him and he watched in quiet amazement as the birds once red brown eyes turned completely red and the wing healed good as new. '_A vampire crow, wonderful.' _He thought sardonically then remembered the wing. '_Actually it might have been infected. That would explain why it instinctively went for my blood it does stop the progress of the taint.' _Though he still had no idea why or how but, he was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Gareki stood up and looked sadly across the town. '_I had thought that when my parents sold me I would never have to witness such blood shed again.'_ He looked down at the bird as he left the town. "Well Kaze I guess it's just you and me now. I am going to destroy Kafka for all it has done, hunting my family and destroying innocent lives." He swore on his very life.

Then he remembered something. He was supposed to contact his family to let them know he was still alive. How was he supposed to do that? He looked at the bird in his arms. _'Why not?' _"Hey Kaze, do you know the way to Rainbow Forest?" He asked and before he could think himself insane the bird nodded. '_Okay that was unexpected.' _He wanted to confirm it though. "You can understand me? Have you always been this intelligent?" Kaze nodded to him again this time with a sharp gleam in his eyes. "Will you do a favor for me? I need to send a letter to my brothers so they won't die of a panic attack. Will you deliver it for me?" Kaze gave him an appraising look before nodding again. "Thanks" Gareki quickly wrote up a letter and tied it on Kaze's back in such a way the wings still had free movement. The crow took off and Gareki decided to move on, confident the bird could find him when he came back. He was sure the place would be swarming with officials soon and he wanted no part in it. He left the massacre behind and headed for the city.


End file.
